


Shiro Loves You, Baby

by ThatScottishShipper



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Art, Drawing, Episode: s01e10 Rebirth, Food Fight, Friendship/Love, Inspired by Art, M/M, Mentions of Other Voltron Paladins, Paladins, Pining Keith (Voltron), Season/Series 01, dont repost to another site
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:00:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24881953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/pseuds/ThatScottishShipper
Summary: Drawing had always been his escape since Shiro went missing. As he replicated entire landscapes on his board in the shed, words he wanted to say most on little sticky notes, the only person he ever drew was Shiro.His hero, his friend, his reason.*Inspired by Chris Palmer’s “Shiro Loves You, Baby” art.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 41





	Shiro Loves You, Baby

Like magic, Keith’s hand moved across the page, the image of Shiro firmly implanted inside his mind.

Returning from Balmera, saving her people from devastation, the Paladins settled in the lounge, unwinding with food goo. Hunk sat between Pidge and Lance, who continued to tease him about his ‘Balmera Beau.’ Shiro chatted with Allura, fascinated about the Altean powers she displayed earlier that day.

Meanwhile, Keith sat on the other side of the room, ignoring the heightened noise as an argument brewed. He unwinded his mind as he always did, a contrast to unwinding his body through physical training.

He drew another perfect picture of Shiro in his notepad.

Drawing had always been his escape since Shiro went missing. As he replicated entire landscapes on his board in the shed, words he wanted to say most on little sticky notes, the only person he ever drew was Shiro.

His hero, his friend, his _reason_.

Shiro’s face on every page was strong and soft at the same time, resonating from his radiant eyes. Turning every page felt like Shiro rediscovering him over and over again, a dazzling supernova bursting with awareness and possibilities.

Shiro’s smile at the shed. Shiro when he slept. Shiro’s determination in finding the Red Lion. Shiro’s mischievous smile when he slapped Keith’s back. Shiro’s face lightened with laughter during the food fight. Shiro’s conspiratory smirk when Pidge teased Hunk about a ‘new girlfriend.’ 

Another of Shiro’s smile, followed by pages upon pages more.

Thankfully, no one found his book full of drawings, but when they returned, Keith had to immortalise Shiro’s smile. The Black Paladin had sat down, removed his helmet, and sighed with relief at how things had turned out.

He had turned to Keith, that pure white grin causing his heart to flutter like diamond butterflies soaring into the night’s sky, turning to stars.

Suddenly, Lance’s sing-songy teasing broke him from his thoughts. He looked up just in time for a generous helping of food goo to cover the Blue Paladin’s face courtesy of Hunk.

Lance reacted accordingly, grabbing a handful from his own bowl and hurling it at the Yellow Paladin. Pandemonium ensued as the others were inevitably drawn into the food war.

Keith simply rolled his eyes, and returned to his notepad.

Every night, in the Castle, Keith flicked through the collection of Shiro’s smiles, his supportive gazes, and the warmth of his very being to remind himself that Shiro was alive.

Shiro was with him again, and he could not lose him.

He couldn’t -

Without warning, that familiar green substance hit Keith directly in the face. Angrily, he wiped the stuff away from his eyes, glaring at the equally messy offenders, all with guilty expressions.

_‘That’s it.’_

Stomping to his feet and tossing his notepad shut, Keith charged, his arms flailing with the generous goo he collected from his face.

As expected, the food fight intensified with Keith’s intervention until the bowl’s were empty. Eventually, the Paladins cracked with laughter, and Allura questioned humorously why these Earthlings - of all people - were the chosen ones.

“Alright, Paladins,” Shiro asserted, the child in him still smirking at the chaos he had a hand in creating. “Let’s clean this up before we turn in.”

By hand, the lounge was eventually returned to normal. The last of the persistent food goo, the very lump on the wall hurled by Keith’s hand, was wiped clean by the Red Paladin himself.

He turned just in time to see Hunk hugging Lance and Pidge close as they laughed. Allura was trying to placate a fretful Coran, who had walked in just in time to see his Princess slathered with weaponised goo.

Shiro chuckled, wondering how long it would take to wash himself clean before he hit the sack tonight.

As Keith wiped his hands clean, he walked over to where he sat, and his heart _stopped_.

His notepad was open, his most recent drawing of Shiro staring back at him. Fear exploded inside him at the thought somebody saw his many drawings of Shiro.

What if it was Lance or Pidge? Like with Hunk, they’d never let him hear the end of this.

Below the sketch was handwriting he recognised very clearly to be Shiro’s. It said _‘Shiro loves you, baby.’_

His heart thumped, face flushed with warmth. When he shot up instinctively, he saw Shiro looking at him, smiling that same smile from his portrait.

And in a heartbeat, Keith smiled back.

**Author's Note:**

> The anniversary of the famous “Shiro Loves You, Baby” drawing by Chris Palmer has arrived, and I wanted to offer a little tribute to the memorable day.
> 
> Keith drawing Shiro felt like a natural story idea, which I took from him writing and drawing on his Conspiracy Board in S1E01, and his drawing skills in S7 during Bob’s game.
> 
> Many of Shiro’s mentioned smiles came from S1 episodes The Rise of a Voltron, Some Assembly Required, and Taking Flight. The drawing he works on in the story is meant to be inspired by Chris Palmer’s drawing, along with the iconic words - “Shiro Loves You, Baby” - being written by Shiro.
> 
> It’s set during S1 because I wanted to focus on earlier seasons before things get too plot heavy, and things are a little lighter for the Paladins (and fans.) The events are just after those of “Rebirth” when they save Balmera.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. ❤️🖤


End file.
